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Catholic Meditation - 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A

Martin Jumbam

The Universal Church celebrates Sunday, October 22, 2017, as the twenty ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A. In the Entrance Antiphon we pray: “I call upon you, God, for you will answer me; bend your ear and hear my prayer. Guard me as the pupil of your eye; hide me in the shade of your wings. Amen.”

This day’s liturgy tells us that God’s ways are not our ways for he even uses a pagan king, Cyrus, in the first reading, as an instrument of the liberation of his chosen people, the people of Israel in exile. In the second reading, Saint Paul is thankful to God for the Christian community of Thessalonica, which is succeeding despite the intense persecution it is subjected to. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus baffles the Scribes and Pharisees, who have been trying to trap him, by telling them that if they take advantage of Caesar’s money, they must pay a price for it, but that ultimate glory must be given to God alone, who is their Lord and Creator. In the course of this Eucharist, let us pray for the grace to shun the material things of this world and keep our gaze fixed on Christ, the risen Lord, who alone has the key to the kingdom of he

First Reading: Isaiah 45: 1. 4-6.

Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whom he has taken by his right hand to subdue nations before him and strip the loins of kings, to force gateways before him that their gates be closed no more: It is for the sake of my servant Jacob, of Israel my chosen one, that I have called you by your name, conferring a title though you do not know me. I am the Lord, unrivalled; there is no other God besides me. Though you do not know me, I arm you that men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun that, apart from me, all is nothing.

V/ The word of the Lord.

R/ Thanks be to God.

Comment

At the time Isaiah is writing this, many years have already passed since the people of Israel were deported to Babylon. The deportees do not see any sign that their ordeal would end anytime soon, nor do they see any possibility of an early return to their motherland. But, unexpectedly, a prophet arises in their midst and begins to utter consoling words and expressions of hope. He is a very intelligent man, who is attentive to all that is going on in the economic, social, cultural and political arena.

Enlightened by the Lord, he discovers that even though a string of political events seem to discourage them, God does indeed have a plan of salvation for them. In his sovereignty, God has made use of a pagan king, Cyrus, to liberate his people living under an oppressive system. Cyrus was the king of the Persians and the Medes, who conquered Babylon bloodlessly in 539 BC. In an enlightened religious policy, he unexpectedly gave freedom to all religions and decreed the return of the Jewish exiles.

Two points are important in this splendid poem, each of them having a bearing on today’s Gospel. Firstly, the God of Israel is the only God – outside him all else is nothing. Secondly, Yahweh is the Lord of history; all secular events come under his supervision. That is why he chooses a pagan king, Cyrus, as his instrument in the liberation of his people because it is he, the God of Israel, who directs history for the sake of his people.

Let us pray to God this day to send his spirit of wisdom to guide our own political leaders, that they too may grant political, social, economic and especially religious freedom to our people as Cyrus did to the Jews living in bondage in Babylon. May they, too, especially at this critical period of our history, have the interest of our people at heart and free us all from the bondage of poverty and misery into which we find ourselves at the moment. May they come to know that it is only in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, Three in One, that they can find the wisdom to govern their people well.

Let us pray with the Psalmist: “Lord, we sing you a new song this day and it is the whole earth that sings to you because your work brings wonders to all the peoples. Lord, you are great and worthy of praise, and are feared above all gods; the gods of the heathen being nothing compared to you, who made heaven and earth. Grant wisdom to our leaders in Church and in civil society that they may lead your people along the right path to your heavenly kingdom. We make this supplication through Christ, the risen Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen

Second Reading: 1 Thess 1: 1-5.

From Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, to the Church in Thessalonika, which is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We always mention you in our prayers and thank God for you all, and constantly remember before God our Father how you have shown your faith in action, worked for love and persevered through hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ. We know, brothers, that God loves you and that you have been chosen, because when we brought the Good News to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction.

V/ The word of the Lord.

R/ Thanks be to God.

Comment

We have completed our reading of Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians and are now embarking on the reading of his first letter to the Thessalonians. A short historical background to this letter can be helpful to understand its contents better. Saint Paul, accompanied by Silas, arrived at Thessalonica in the course of his second apostolic journey after leaving Philippi around the summer of the year 50 AD (Acts 17:1).

That city, now known as Salonika, was a flourishing center of trade on the Aegean Sea. As far as religion was concerned, it was a typical pagan city although there were quite a number of Jews living there then. On arrival, and in keeping with his tradition, Saint Paul first went to the synagogue to proclaim the Good News, telling his listeners that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and that all the Old Testament prophecies had come true in him and that he had redeemed mankind by his passion, death and resurrection.

As a result of his preaching, many Jews and Greeks came to believe. His success earned him the envy of certain Jews who organized demonstrations against him and his companions, and they had to leave town in a hurry to avoid being stoned to death.

After the hasty exit, Paul wrote his two letters to the Thessalonians to encourage them in their faith, which was being terribly tried by various forms of persecution and false preaching by his numerous enemies.

In the passage selected for our meditation this day, we meet Silvanus and Timothy, Paul’s co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard. Silvanus had worked alongside Paul in the evangelization of Thessalonica, and Timothy was the son of a Gentile father and a Jewish mother. It is he who would carry Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians and bring back a report of their faith.

Paul tells his converts that the gospel he preaches was foretold by the prophets and fulfilled by the Incarnation of the Word and by his work of salvation. This work is made possible only by the power of the Holy Spirit through whom he carries out his mission. As Blessed Pope Paul VI once said, “it must be said that the Holy Spirit is the principal agent of evangelization: it is he who impels each individual to proclaim the Gospel, and it is he who in the depths of consciences causes the word of salvation to be accepted and understood.”

Let us pray this day for the Holy Spirit to come down and guide us so that we too can proclaim the Good News of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ boldly and openly, in season and out of season, whether we are being listened to or not. We make our supplication through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God forever and ever. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 22: 15-21

The Pharisees went away to work out between them how to trap Jesus in what he said. And they sent their disciples to him, together with the Herodians, to say, “Master, we know that you are an honest man and teach the way of God in an honest way, and that you are not afraid of anyone, because a man’s rank means nothing to you. Tell us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, “You hypocrites! Why do you set this trap for me? Let me see the money you pay the tax with.” They handed him a denarius, and he said, “Whose head is this? Whose name?” “Caesar’s” they replied. He then said to them, “Very well, give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God.”

V/ The Gospel of the Lord.

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Comment

Jesus’ confrontation with the Scribes and Pharisees is becoming more and more open, aggressive and direct. In today’s Gospel reading, we see the Pharisees and the Herodians joining forces to plot against Jesus. The Herodians were supporters of the regime of Herod and his dynasty. They were quite well disposed to Roman rule and, as far as religious matters were concerned, they held the same materialistic ideas as the Sadducees. They were too liberal for traditional Jewish liking.

On the other hand, the Pharisees were zealous keepers of the law; they were anti-Roman and regarded the Herods as usurpers. The Herodians and the Pharisees hated each other deeply; but when it came to Jesus, they got together in a pack against him. This shows how much they all hated him.

When they got together to ask Jesus whether it was lawful to pay the census tax, they wanted to trap him. Had he answered that it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees could have discredited him in the eyes of the people as a traitor. If he said it was unlawful, the Herodians would have denounced him to the Roman authorities as a troublemaker.

Faced with the double-edged trap of the Pharisees and the Herodians, in which it was unsafe to clearly say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, Jesus framed his answer in such a way that it would be hard for either party to trap him easily. In this way, he succeeded to confuse and baffle them all.

Our Lord’s answer is profound and remains faithful to his preaching about the Kingdom of God. Caesar has a right to receive his taxes, which are necessary for legitimate state expenses, but God must be given obedience to all his commandments. Jesus’ response goes beyond the human horizons of these tempters, far beyond the simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ they want from him.

What lesson can we draw from this reading? Cameroonian Jesuit priest, Stephen Kizito Forbi, sj, says that every Christian has dual citizenship: that of the world and that of heaven. As citizens of the world, we, Christians, belong to a country where we were born to or where we live. The state has an obligation towards us, the citizens, to provide public services, education, medical care, employment, etc. We, Christians, are, or should be responsible citizens of our land, loving our country, being concerned with the social and cultural well-being of our land, paying our taxes, obeying the laws of the land and exercising our voting rights to select people of integrity to run our country. What this means is that we have a duty towards Caesar in return for the privileges Caesar’s government brings, or should bring to us.

As citizens of heaven, we have Christian responsibilities to fulfill before God. Have we blessed our marriage in Church? Do we offer our children the opportunity of a Christian education? Have we waged war against unborn babies, resulting in the killing of innocent souls? Are we faithful to our state in life? As spouses, are we faithful to our matrimonial obligations? As ordained ministers of God’s word, are we faithful to the vows we took before the Lord and his people?

As Christians, we must carefully balance our earthly and heavenly citizenship by fearing God and honoring the emperor (1 Pt 2, 17). Jesus calls for responsible citizenship on earth, but more importantly for responsible life that will assure a place in heaven where our citizenship will be eternal. Let us pray for the courage to defend social justice, the right to life and promote peace on earth. We call on the Holy Spirit to help us to be faithful to our civic duty towards Caesar but more especially to our divine obligation towards God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Three Persons in One. We make our supplication through Christ our Lord. Amen.